Grooming practices vary among individuals, but generally include shaving or trimming beards, combing, brushing, and styling head hair, etc. Grooming devices for carrying out these practices include razors, scissors, trimmers, combs, brushes, etc.
A beard is the collection of hair that grows on the chin, upper lip, cheeks, and necks of human beings. Conventional grooming practices relating to beards include shaving and trimming. Some conventional grooming practices include both shaving and trimming in order to leave mustaches or goatees of varying shapes and sizes.
Beard hairs up to two (2) cm or so tend to be thick and stiff. Beards composed of hairs of these lengths are scratchy and harsh to the touch but are the most popular type. To address the bristly nature of these hairs, a chemical product was marketed in the last century that claimed to soften the beard. However, this chemical product only conditioned the hairs, reducing surface friction of the hair, but did not alter the structure of the hair follicles to soften the beard. It is believe that no device has been created that has the potential for softening the feel of beard hairs.
The grooming industry is therefore looking for devices and/or methods for softening the feel of facial hair, such as beards.